Far back in the mists of ancient time, someone posted here that Scott Cook was about to open, or had just opened, orders for his Lochsa folder for the first time in years.

I immediately followed the directions given on Mr. Cook's website and sent an email asking to purchase one of the knives.

Orders were open from some time on October 1, 2010, until 10:15 AM on October 2, 2010, and according to the mass email he sent out to all those who had sent order emails, the response was overwhelming.

I didn't receive anything further from Mr. Cook, assumed I would when my name came up on the list, and promptly forgot about it.

Well, late last year (6 years later!), something reminded me. I figured my order had somehow fallen through the cracks and been missed. I sent Mr. Cook a polite email saying, basically, that I knew it had been a long time, but was there any chance I could still go through with the order?

Mr. Cook immediately responded that he did, in fact, have my order, that he was still working through the orders from that brief period in 2010, and that there were still some people in front of me but my name should come up soon. He also confirmed the order information I had sent him. I had to provide a new mailing address - I've moved twice since I placed the order!

Well, a couple of weeks ago, an email popped up - I was at the front of the line, and could I confirm again the details of the order. I did, and a week later Mr. Cook sent a note that the knife was ready. I sent him a check (for several times the most I have ever paid for a knife before), and he sent me the knife, which arrived today, a week less than six and a half years after I ordered it.

Totally worth it. (It probably helps that I forgot about it for most of that time.)

The blade and handle geometry is great (the handle is one solid piece of titanium, no screws - and it isn't flat, either, where the bevels are wider, the handle swells), the build quality is exceptional, and it is very, very sharp.

You can click any of the photos I've posted here to see the original stupid-resolution D800 pics.

The macro shots aren't perfectly crisp because I didn't have time to set up a tripod and lights so I did it handheld in poor light. Not bad for 1/15th second exposures with a 150mm lens, though. VR is great. (I had to take a few, some were pretty blurry.)

Nice blade to be sure. Still... Over a grand for a pocket knife? I used to get free folders with a full up at the local service station. Incomprehensible in my eyes. I thought I was really tossing down some coin on the last $70.00 knife I bought. The price for this one is astonishing.

Nice blade to be sure. Still... Over a grand for a pocket knife? I used to get free folders with a full up at the local service station. Incomprehensible in my eyes. I thought I was really tossing down some coin on the last $70.00 knife I bought. The price for this one is astonishing.

Regardless... Very nice knife. If you've got it, flaunt it. Nice OP.

I completely agree that it is an absurd amount of money to spend on a knife.

In design and manufacture, it's the best pocketknife I've ever handled. It's pretty much the Platonic ideal of pocketknives. But it's the old law of diminishing returns, you pay 10x as much to get the last 10% improvement.

There isn't really any way to justify it. I wanted what is, to me, the perfect pocketknife, and I spent a crazy amount of money to get it.

I guess it's not really that different from people who collect things, or spend a bunch of money on their car, or whatever. I saved up some discretionary spending money and spent it on this rather than on another gun or something because I figured I'd enjoy it more.